Camshafts in internal combustion engines serve for controlling the intake and exhaust valves and are driven by a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine. Since the camshaft has a high rotational speed, it is essential for a reliable functioning of the camshaft to properly mount the same in the axial direction as well as in the radial direction.
From EP 1 995 417 B1, a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine with a camshaft is known, which camshaft is mounted via at least one roller bearing on a cylinder head housing. Here, at least one axial bearing is provided which supports the camshaft in the axial direction and which is formed at the same time as ball bearing or also as roller bearing. However, the known axial bearings support the camshaft mainly in the radial direction and only to a certain extent in the axial direction because the axial bearings known from EP 1 995 417 B1 allow only a limited absorption of axial forces. More precisely, the known axial bearings are rather axial/radial bearings and, besides radial forces, absorb also a small portion of axial forces. However, due to the known embodiments of the axial bearings, the bearing forces of the same are limited. Usually, the axial bearing forces for camshafts are absorbed via so-called thrust washers which are also designated as “thrust plate”, wherein such thrust washers have a significantly shorter lifespan compared to other bearing devices so that they usually have to be replaced regularly and, at the same time, they represent only slide bearings which require an additional lubrication system and can stick during a standstill of the internal combustion engine and subsequently require certain release forces. All these relatively negative bearing properties result in a higher fuel consumption which is not to be underestimated.